Dynamics of Spring

Spring is in the air in Melbourne. The air warm and fragrant. A welcome change, the days getting a little longer, the hopeful feeling of sunshine ahead.

In Chinese Medicine spring is associated with the liver and the wood element. The nature of spring is about wind, new growth and renewal. Wind brings about change, and if we are flexible enough, new growth from that change. The element of wood is about flexibility and adaptability.

Healthy wood can be imagined as bamboo. Strong, rooted and yet entirely flexible. When a wind blows, bamboo is supple enough to bend with the force. It does not resent the wind, become frustrated, or break.

Flexibility requires strong roots, hydration/softness and nourishment, as well as free uninhibited movement. The challenge is in maintaining free flowing movement around life’s obstacles. The liver in Chinese medical philosophy, also rules the eyes and sinews. Are our bodies strong and yet flexible? Are we able to see ways around problems and changes that inevitably come across our paths? Or keep the bigger picture in mind?

Are we able to see a path ahead to meet our goals?

With enough blood and yin in the liver - and thus our bodies and vision - we can soften and yield while remaining strong. We can bounce back from adversity with clear direction.

The liver meridian begins in the big toe and travels up the leg, through the lateral side of the abdomen, finishing under the breast at the acupuncture point Liver 14 - named Gate of Hope or Gateway of Completeion. It is here that the cycle of qi begins again, a new start, a fresh slate.

Some ways to keep our livers, eyes and sinews healthy and working optimally this spring -

• A little sour with each meal - lemon juice, saurkraut

• Lots of fresh, and cooked, dark leafy greens - silverbeet, kale, spinach

• Lots of fresh green beans, snowpeas, mung bean sprouts

• Gentle movement and stretching; flexible body helps maintain a flexible mind

• Dance

• Talking gently through frustrations

• Resolving conflicts through forgiveness and letting go of ideas of how things should be

• Contemplating our ability to face change and be flexible

• Protecting your neck from the wind

• Resting your eyes from the computer, and if you can looking into the horizon frequently

• Ju Hua compresses - warm herbal eye compresses for tired or hayfever affected eyes

• Ju Hua and Goji berry tea for tired eyes

• Acupuncture or shiatsu for hayfever symptoms, liver health, physical and emotional flexibility

Contact me at my Coburg clinic if there’s anything you need support in seeing differently, renewing or softening into during this dynamic season. Acupuncture excels at creating real change.